Story game



Jan. 3, 1956 GROSS 2,728,997

STORY GAME Filed Nov. 16, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 YOUR FORTUNE/ 2 You were born underthe and that is a sign that you will always hafl e luck. 2

You will fall in love at the age of .and will marry when you are You will travel from to in a and will meet a person who will have a influence on your life. 2

You will live to the old age of and outside of a touch of at you will ,4

enjoy health the rest of your life.

4 YOUR FORTUNE/7 n| in l C W: 7 number:

a country] I la country K? w n:

a sickness] I I A ]number F/g 2 LEAH K. GROSS ZZ/M M A 7' TORNE YS Jan. 3, 1956 L. K. GROSS 2,728,997

STORY GAME Filed Nov. 16, 1954 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 YOUR FORTUNE\ //3 you ml:

You will travel from |:4l 9

toL jinaL L Wand will meet 0L Li I person who will have a E; linfluence on your life.

You will live to the old age of S and outside of a enjoy [:1 health the rest of your life.

Fig.3

INVENTOR. LEAH K. GROSS A T TORNE YS Jan. 3, 1956 Filed Nov. 16. 1954 1.. K. GROSS 2,728,997

STORY GAME 5 Sheets-Sheet s /2 YOUR FORTUNE number number /4 o coun'rry a country ]I I number /4 sickness no.

Fig. 4

INVENTOR. L EAH K. GROSS ATTORNEYS United States Patent STORY GAME Leah K, Gross, Cleveland, Ohio Application November 16, 1954, Serial No.-469,1 63

' 1 claim. cl. 35 -35) This invention relates generally to games, but has reference more particularly to story or word ga'r'nesdesigned to amuse a child.

A primary object ofthe invention is toprovide agame of the character described, which isnot only amusing or entertaining, but which is educational and instructive as well, in that it teaches the child to write stories, and increases the child s vocabular Another object of the invention is to provide a game of the character described, which is extremely simple and inexpensive, embodying only printed sheets or cards.

A further objectof the" invention is to rovide a; game of the character described, which furnishesf a challenge to children of all ages; and appeals to the child's imagination and skill.

Other objects and advantages of my invention willbe apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a view of a sheet or card, which is an element of a preferred form of the game;

Fig. 2 is a view of a sheet or card, which is another element; of a preferred form of thegame;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing an element of a modified form of the game, and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to- Fig 2, but showing another element of the modified form of game.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates a sheet which has printed thereon a composition or story, from which certain words, designated by the blank spaces 2 have been omitted, the composition or story being incomplete until the omitted words have been supplied in these spaces.

Reference numeral 3 designates a second sheet, which bears a title 4 which corresponds to the title 5 of the composition or story on sheet 1, the sheet 3 having rectangular windows or openings 6, which, when the sheet 3 is superimposed on the sheet 1, register with the blank spaces 2 of sheet 1.

The sheet 3 also has printed thereon, adjacent the windows or openings 6, Roman numerals and clue or guide words 7, for a purpose to be now described.

A child, in order to complete the story on sheet 1, and preferably without having seen the incomplcted story, will superimpose sheet 3 on sheet 1, in such a manner that the windows or openings 6 register with the blank spaces 2 of sheet 1, and will then write in the blank spaces, through the windows or openings, words indicated by the Roman numerals and clue or guide words 7.

The words indicated by the Roman numerals are selected from the following lists or categories of different parts of speech:

, 2,728,997 Patented Jan. 3, 1956 'ice I II III v lIV V Nouns Adjectives Adverbs Intransltlve'lransltlve Verbs Verbs tecter-t'otter pale clumsily cry push merry-go-round funny dalntlly sneeze shove horse gawky foolishly run squeeze cow glistening coldly lump scold pig fat sadly squeal slap pony absurd oddly scream hold crayon goofy naturally laugh catch teacher skinny carefully .cough shoot ship old delicately fly pull pic young fearlully' stretch build baby stylish sk-lp tickle grandfather shrill buy horn odd sell automobile famous l jellybean era-2y mystery smart gent-lemon frantic beggar unsettled stagecoach important money fancy cricket lonely neighbor ungrateful egg contrary turkey stubborn ghost ill-tempered molasses tricky whale ble'tlfy-eycd secret snappy shari snea y unspeakable merry It is to be understood, however, that the words thus selected are not necessarily confined to the words app'earing in this list, but that thechild may insert in. these spaces other words of its selection, provided they are parts of speech which fall within the categories indicated by the Roman numerals.

The clue or guide words may be any Words or numbers which fall within the classification. indicated by the clue or guide words.

When the child has thus completed the composition or story, it will lift sheet 3 off sheet 1, and sheet 1 will then bear the completed composition. or story, which can be easily read, and which will usually be of such a nature as to furnish the childwith a great deal of amusement or entertainment. 7

In practice, the sheets 1 and 3 will usually be furnished in the form of a book, from which the sheets may be easily removed, or in the form of sets of cards of fairly large size, or the sheets 1 and 3 may be furnished in sets, the parts of which are preferably associated in such a manner that the child will not be able to read the composition or story until all of the blanks have been filled in. Such books or sets will also be furnished with at least one sheet or card bearing the above lists of parts of speech, as well as a sheet or card bearing instructions for playing the story game. Such instruction sheet or card will preferably bear the following instructions:

Choose your words Everybody wants to write stories, and here is your chance to write the kind that will be so funny that you will have to giggle.

Just fill in the blanks on the story sheet by placing the guide card (containing the windows) over the story sheet, and writing words through the windows which correspond to the Roman numerals and clue or guide words. The words indicated by the Roman numerals are to be selected from the lists found in the front of the book. The clue or giude words may be any word you wish to write in, provided it is a word which is indicated by the clue or guide word.

When you have filled in all of the blanks you may lift off the guide card, and read the story you have written.

You may supply Words of your own choice which are not on the list, but be sure the word is the same kind of word suggested by the lists under the Roman numerals. T

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. a modification of the story game is illustrated, which may be described as follows:

Reference numeral 8 designates a sheet which has printed thereon a composition or story, from which certain words, designated by the rectangular windows or openings 9, have been omitted, the composition or story being incomplete until the omitted words have been supplied.

Reference numeral 11 designates a second sheet, which bears a title 12, which corresponds to the title 13 of the composition or story on sheet 8, the sheet 11 having blank spaces 14, which, when the sheet 8 is superimposed on the sheet 11, register with the windows or openings 9 of sheet 8.

The sheet 11 also has printed thereon, adjacent the blank spaces 14, Roman numerals and clue or guide words 15, for a purpose to be now described.

A child, in order to complete the story on sheet 8, and preferably before it sees sheet 8, will first fill in the blank spaces 14 with words indicated by the Roman numerals and clue or guide words 15.

The words indicated by the Roman numerals are words selected from the same lists or categories of diiferent parts of speech as described above in connection with Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Here, again, the child may insert words of its own selection, other than those in the lists, provided they are parts of speech which fall within the categories indicated by the Roman numerals.

The clue or guide words may be any words or numbers which fall Within the classification indicated by the clue or guide words.

When the child has completed filling in the blanks on sheet 11, it will superimpose sheet 8 on sheet 11 in such a corresponding selected words on sheet 11, thereby forming a completed composition or story, which can be easily read, and which will usually be of such a nature as to manner that the windows or openings 9 register with the furnish the child with a great deal of amusement or easily removed, or in the form of sets of cards of fairly large size, or the sheets 8 and 11 may be furnished in sets, the parts of which are preferably associated in such a manner that the child will not be able to see sheet 8 until all of the blanks of sheet ll have been filled in. This enhances the element of suspense or entertainment. Such books or sets will also be furnished with at least one sheet or card bearing the above lists of parts of speech, as well as a sheet or card bearing instructions for playing the story game. Such instruction sheet or card will be somewhat similar to that described, but modified in accordance with the foregoing description with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings.

The story game or games, as thus described, are designed not only to provide the child with entertainment or amusement, but are highly educational or instructive as well, in that they teach the child certain elements of composition or writing, and aid in increasing its vocabulary.

It will be understood that minor changes may be made in the games, as described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A game of the character described, comprising a sheet having a composition characterized by blank spaces denoting omitted words, a second sheet having openings therein adapted for registration with the blank spaces of said first sheet, a plurality of selected lists of words comprising difierent parts of speech, said lists identified by indicia, said second sheet having indicia thereon adjacent said openings, said last-named indicia indicating the list from which words are to be selected according to the indicia of said lists, whereby words may be selected from said lists and inserted in the blank spaces of the first sheet when the second sheet is superimposed on the first sheet, thereby completing the composition on the first sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,886 Snyder Mar. 2, 1897 1,603,129 McDade Oct. 12, 1926 2,204,931 Gonzalez June 18, 1940 2,493,668 Gonzalez Jan. 3, 1950 2,497,200 Appel Feb. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 130,778 Great Britain Aug. 11, 1919 

